Daily Times

MADRID: Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi has requested the Spanish government to revise its travel recommendation for Pakistan, citing the country’s significant improvement in law and order.

He mentioned this in Madrid when speaking with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares.

During the meeting, bilateral ties, trade and economic relations, besides regional and global situations were discussed.

Later, addressing a joint press stakeout, both foreign ministers expressed satisfaction over the existing bilateral relations between Pakistan and Spain and agreed to further strengthen the ties.

Both sides stressed the need to further activate the mechanism of Annual Bilateral Consultation and agreed to hold the fifth round of the consultation soon during the current year.

FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan, being a market of 200 million people, is an attractive market for foreign investment in textile, housing, construction, pharmaceutical, renewable energy, agriculture and sports industries.

Qureshi also met with the Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism María Reyes Maroto Illera in Madrid.

They held detailed discussions on enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Pakistan and Spain.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the annual bilateral trade between the two countries is more than 1.3 billion dollars which is proof that Spain is one of the important trading partners of Pakistan.

Discussing the Afghanistan situation, he urged the European Union to play an effective role to avert a humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

Concerning the situation in India’s illegally occupied Kashmir, the Foreign Minister informed his colleague of the threats to regional peace posed by Indian policy.

He stated that Kashmir is a key point of contention between Pakistan and India and that a just resolution is required for regional peace and stability.